Change and Innovation in European Library and Information Science Education

Abstract

This review article examines current trends and developments in higher education and considers how library and information science institutions have responded to these. The contribution of LIS institutions to innovation and change in Europe is examined through institutional case studies in the following institutions: the Institute of Information Science and Information Systems, University of Graz, Austria; the Institute of Information Studies of Tallinn University, Estonia; the Department of Library Science and Information Systems, the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece; the Faculty of Communication of Vilnius University, Lithuania; and the Swedish School of Library and Information Science, University of Borås, Sweden. This paper follows up the study conducted in 2003 by Virkus and Wood (2004, 2005), who analyzed trends and developments in higher education and the responses to these by LIS institutions. The findings of the study are used to identify the main challenges for LIS education.

Keywords

• Librarianship
• University education
• Europe
• Learning and teaching methods
• Documentation